I am managing this blog on behalf of Dr Lee Kum Tatt. He is a leading scientist, creator of the RISIS orchid, and a very interesting and philosophical person. He has many creative and innovative ideas. I have encouraged Dr Lee to send his ideas to me for posting into this blog. Tan Kin Lian

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Setting New Year Resolutions

The New Year (2008) is fast approaching. It is the day when we make decisions about what we want to accomplish and where to place our priorities in the coming year. Some people do not think too much about setting such New Year resolutions, but others do. My husband Dr. Lee Kum Tatt (LKT) belongs to the group of “others”.

Some common resolutions people make include: (i) I will stop smoking, stop drinking or lose some weight , (ii) Fantasizing on something without any clue on how these can be achieved.

These are frivolous resolutions people make without serious thoughts. Some are broken even before they get started. Because of this some believe it is a joke to make New Year Resolutions.

LKT sets up, together with his family members, New Year Resolutions just as he sets up policies, plans and implementation strategies for the organizations under his charge throughout his life. Like his staff we are expected to do our best to make the resolutions effective and produce the expected results. In the beginning we muddled our way through with some guidance from LKT. In this way we learned how to handle our own lives.

LKT is not a guru in management but we can learn a lot from his experience and the anecdotes that he can give. Today there are many books available which teach and give advice on how to make effective Resolutions and tips on how their goals can be achieved.

This year LKT wants his older grandchildren to continue to study and work hard so that they can be useful citizens who can make contributions for the betterment of their fellowmen as part of their mission in life. This is a resolution which every parent would like their children to have. However this Resolution has to be understood and takes time to acheieve results. He bought each of them a pen of their choice with an attached message. Some may find this approach useful. Hence we decided to produce this message “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword” in LKT’s blog to start the New Year.